The microprocessors known so far are not optimally designed for the execution of a binary search. In particular, sequential comparisons with subsequent conditional jumps are executed in the previously known methods in a program section that is to be repeated, in order to divide a search field into two sub-fields, and to continue the search in that sub-field in which the element that is sought must be located. These conditional jumps can significantly lengthen the execution on a microprocessor, in particular since the results of the comparison are very unpredictable.